Update: November 13, 2004 It has been way to long, since I updated this site, but I felt, with all that has gone on, that I needed to. So much time has passed, that I will have to skip over some things. In April, Jim won the Doubles Division in the NAGDA National Championship, which was held in Stratton, Colorado. Plus, he placed in the top 4 in the Open Pointing Division. A very proud moment for Jim and the Dogs, Jack and Buddy! In May, my two babies graduated. Brianna graduated from Kindergarten, and Kyle, from High School. It was touch and go, with Kyle, but he managed to pass, at the very last moment!...lol. But it was a very touching day for us, because, in a month, Kyle would be leaving. On July 2nd, 2003, Kyle was Dep'd into the Untied States Marine Corps. He attended all Poolie functions, and even got an award for it, and his many volunteers projects on behalf of the USMC. So when June 21st, 2004 rolled around, it was time for Kyle to go to Boot Camp. A very sad day for this mom, but never did I expect that Boot Camp would be so tough on my 'ol heartstrings. Only those who have gone through this, can understand. I can literally go into pages of how those early letters from Kyle tore into me, and all of the emotions that we both went through, but I won't bore you with that. On September 16th, we were allowed to see him for the first time. It was a Family Day at base. He couldn't leave the base, but we got to visit with him and see "his" world. There was also a ceremony where Kyle was awarded his EGA (Eagle, Globe, and Anchor) and it was at that time, that Kyle went from a Recruit, to a Marine. We were all so proud!!!! It was great to have him in my arms again. He had lost weight, but gained an inch...hahaha. He looked good, though. On Friday, the 17th of September, he officially graduated from Marine Boot Camp. It was after the ceremony, which I might add, was spectacular and very impressive, that Kyle was given his liberty. We had him for 10 days, before he had to report back, to start SOI (School of Infantry). We had brought Kyle's girlfriend, Sarah, with us to see him graduate, and for her to see California. She had never been there before, so we did some sightseeing while we had Kyle with us. Driving out there, we hit the Grand Canyon, and then visited with Jim's brother, Mike and his kids. Then, I met up with a fantastic friend, named Claudia and her husband Richard. Claudia is the founder of the Webring I am in. She lives in Los Angeles, so we met at the Huntington Library. WOW! There was so much stuff to see, and Claudia and Richard are a hoot!! I hated to have to end the day with them. But I will see them again, real soon! The day after Kyle's graduation, we went to Disneyland. I had always promised Kyle, that I would take him to see it, so we went and spent the day there. Then Jim drove us up to Stockton, where we stayed at my mom's house. While in Stockton, we visited Ma Mason, Danny, Courtney, Ezane & Jim, Aida, Cousin Shirley, and Jerry and Barbara. We drove up to see Yosemite the next day, and visited the mountains. Then on Wednesday, we drove down to Monterey Bay, and went to the beaches and went on the wharf. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and really warm for being September. We then drove up to visit Dad and Gale. Dad and Gale got ahold of Pam, and her boyfriend Jim, Debbie, and Pam's daughter Jenny and her little daughter, Carina, and we all met at Dad's house. Kyle hadn't seen Grandpa in a long time, and wanted Grandpa to be proud of him, and I am pretty sure he was! Dad was excited to see Kyle in his uniform. I got an excellent picture of the two of them. We then all went out to eat and Dad got to sit and talk to Kyle and Sarah. Gale then invitied us to stay the night, as Kyle had to fly out the next morning to go visit his father and Aunt in Washington. We had a great time, and I can't thank them enough for doing that for us! Saying goodbye, was awfully hard, in the morning, but we managed through it. We got Kyle on his flight early in the morning, then we headed back up to Stockton. We decided to leave early, and we packed our things. We then headed back home, a bit more somber. While Kyle was at SOI, he passed his Recon screening,(Only 4 out of 300, passed) so he will now be going to the Basic Recon Camp (BRC). The instructors at BRC are Navy Seals, so he will be undergoing a super tough regimen. Do to security reasons, I can't tell you where Kyle is, or list his last name, or give out anymore info than I have. It is this way for any of our servicemen and women, as anybody can go to the Internet and surf for information. So what I tell you about Kyle will be general info. My Brother Matt got married on October 16th, to Wendy. They had a beautiful Fall wedding, and both Paul and Jeff flew in from California to be there. The weather turned out great and the ceremony was lovely! Matt now lives in Missouri, not far from where I live in Arkansas. So after the wedding, when Matt and Wendy went on their Honeymoon, Paul, Jeff, and Chip, Matt's son, came down to our place for a little visit, then we went out to eat in Branson. I don't know about my brothers, but I had a really nice time. It was nice to have them come see my neck of the woods. They flew back home the next day. So that is it for now. Hopefully Kyle will come home for Christmas. We sure do miss him!! Pictures of all of this are being posted, so go check them out. Wrote two more poems, too, and they are posted as well. Everyone take care, and God Bless!

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